Albermarle Street in Mayfair is one of London’s classiest and most moneyed thoroughfares. The proprietors and customers of the area’s art galleries, jewellery emporia and designer boutiques have to eat so, unsurprisingly, a substantial dining scene also thrives. Joining the Indian, Korean, Japanese, Italian and old-school English options (some of them rather glamorous, and quite a few of them seriously expensive), comes Time and Space. It’s competitively priced for the area and delivers reliable, modern British food in a modish but elegant setting.

The Venue
Time and Space is situated within The Royal Institution of Great Britain, both a building and organisation most have probably overlooked, despite it often being proclaimed the oldest independent research body in the world (where the Thermos flask was invented, no less!). It’s also a science museum, events space, restaurant, cafe and bar. Access to the restaurant is via the sleek, dimly-lit bar (by world-renowned designer and architect Sir Terry Farrell) with its trendy, embossed wallpaper and comfortable, modern, oversized chairs. The only jarring note is struck by the overly bright pink illumination of the bar’s panelling. It’s worth ignoring this to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail from a bargain list available between 5pm and 8pm.

Dinner is served in a clubby but modern room of 60 covers featuring deep charcoal carpets, comfortable upholstered charcoal chairs, lacquered black tables and oversized, papal purple hanging lampshades. In a nod to the room’s former incarnation as a library, the walls are artfully book-lined, whilst a fine, period fireplace dominates either end.

The Atmosphere
Service is unhurried, friendly and attentive, and generally slick. Diners are well behaved but relaxed, casually attired but not scruffy. This would be a calming oasis in which to lunch after a hard morning’s designer shopping. Similarly, art aficionados might repair here for dinner after an appetite-building and alcohol-saturated gallery reception.

The Food
At £15.95 for two courses and £19.95 for three, the set menu is something of a bargain for the area, especially as three options are offered for each course. Although it is advertised as being available between noon and 7pm, it’s worth checking at dinnertime, as it’s sometimes available later on, at the manager’s discretion. From this weekly changing menu, the usually vegetarian-friendly soup of the day is a leek and potato soup, which is startlingly bright green but possesses the classic, comforting vichyssoise flavour and an impeccably smooth texture. The main of grilled pork steak is too salty due, it is explained, to its having been salt-cured so that it can be safely served slightly pink: it would be worth giving up the pinkness to lose the salt. The accompanying slab of Pomme Anna (sliced, layered potatoes) is suitably unctuous, and the jus agreeably meaty. A side of green beans (£3 extra) is commendably crisp and buttery. From the set puds, an individual apple pie is competently made, though the apple flavour could be a tad zingier. The accompanying custard is a copiously vanilla-flecked delight.

From seven a la carte starters, crab salad with green apple and bread crisp (the most expensive at £9) is light, fresh and pretty, just as an appetiser should be. Its neat little timbale of crabmeat is not overpowered by its subtle dressing, whilst the addition of minute cubes of tart apple, a leafy side salad and crunchy bread slivers all work a treat. From a list of eight mains, free range chicken with two slaw and hand cut chips (£12) also pleases. As with the vichyssoise, the chicken supreme startles initially thanks to its vibrant green coating of blitzed parsley, chervil, Parmesan and breadcrumbs, but this certainly adds flavour and retains moisture. The two slaw’s puzzling name is explained by the fact that it contains both red and white cabbage. A confusing accompaniment, albeit it a crunchy, tasty one (and an extremely purple one – what colourful plates Time and Space serves!). The fat, golden, skin-on chips are impeccable. From the six-strong a la carte pudding menu, all £5, a daily changing selection of six ice creams and sorbets is available. Lemon, raspberry and mango sorbet are all smooth textured and intensely flavoured. The rather small scoops arrive theatrically atop an ice disc with a delicious, brandy snap-esque wafer.

The Drink
The commendably succinct, global wine list comprises seven sparklers (from a hefty £55 to £125), 15 whites (£18 - £85), two roses and 15 reds (£18 - £79.50) with plenty available by the 175ml glass. Additionally, the manager’s wine selection by the glass offers two whites and two reds, all at £5.50 (which is dearer than most of the wines available by the glass from the main list, incidentally). From this mini-list, San Rafael Merlot Chile 2007 is smooth and soft, whilst Firefinch Sauvignon Blanc 2007 arrives properly chilled and zingy. Even more impressive, Louis Bernard Cotes du Rhone Cuvees des Prelats 2007 is packed with blackberries with yummy liquorice and spice undertones. A glass of intensely scented and not overly sweet Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2007 (£5.90) partners pudding perfectly.

If you fancy a pre-dinner snifter in that Terry Farrell-designed bar, that bargain selection of five cocktails, all at £5.80, is available between 5pm and 8pm, from which Clements’s Collins is an invigorating reinvention of the long-neglected gin and bitter lemon, with the addition of Triple Sec. Most of the concoctions from the longer, regular cocktail list cost £9.50. There’s an extensive selection of spirits, beers and soft drinks, as you would expect with a bar and restaurant at this level. Teas are black, white, green, fruit or herbal (£2.50 - £2.70) whilst the usual coffee options like filter, cappuccino and espresso all come in under £2 and arrive with unusually good chocolates if you’ve ordered from the a la carte menu in the restaurant.

The Last Word
Time and Space is a bargain compared with many of its Mayfair neighbours; three a la carte courses of sensible, attractive, well-executed food plus half a bottle of modest wine will set you back only about £45 in a dining room which feels luxurious and grown-up and where service is friendly and attentive.

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